Novel host factors involved in viral infection can be identified through cell-based genome-wide loss of function RNAi screening. A Drosophila cell culture model is particularly amenable to this approach due to the ease and efficiency of RNAi. Here we demonstrate this technique using vaccinia virus as an example.
Moser, T. S., Sabin, L. R., Cherry, S. RNAi Screening for Host Factors Involved in Vaccinia Virus Infection using Drosophila Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (42), e2137, doi:10.3791/2137 (2010).